


i can't stop you putting roots in my dreamland

by 26stars



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: College AU, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Shield-Free AU, There's only one bed (it would seem)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-13 03:29:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28771632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/26stars/pseuds/26stars
Summary: Daisy and Jemma were best friends all throughout college, but then Jemma's postgrad program took her all the way to Europe. When Daisy finally pays her a visit, a change in the furniture leads to a change in their relationship.(early) birthday present for May <3. Also fills the 'new trope' prompt in the new year challenge and my femslash bingo square 'long-distance relationship'.
Relationships: Jemma Simmons/Skye | Daisy Johnson
Comments: 9
Kudos: 42
Collections: Women of the MCU





	i can't stop you putting roots in my dreamland

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MayBeBrilliant](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MayBeBrilliant/gifts).



> Based on [this](https://loved-the-stars-too-fondly.tumblr.com/post/634565440606224384/i-recently-started-working-in-hospitality-and) tumblr post that made my life.
> 
> Happy birthday May! I hope you have a wonderful day and a great birthday week! Thanks for helping with this prompt ;)

Daisy had been adamant throughout her teen years that she would never, _ever_ , agree to a long-distance relationship. She’d watched a few friends in high school date people who’d gone off to college, and of the five Daisy was privy to, only one relationship survived the test of time and took the two all the way to the altar. Watching people put their lives on pause for someone who wasn’t there and wasn’t coming back for years…it just didn’t make sense to Daisy. Life was meant to be lived, and if the person you wanted wasn’t going in the same direction, you needed to find a person who was.

The thing about resolutions though, is it sometimes just took the right person to make you rethink them.

It wasn’t like she and Jemma had a romantic relationship to begin with—since meeting during their first year of college, they’d kept separate companies and majors and yet had bonded over their shared love of a certain corner of the student union and the two friends that introduced them—Fitz and Lincoln. Those two had several shared engineering classes, got along like a house on fire, and were the whole reason she and Jemma met. After a few late-night breakfasts and study sessions where they hardly got anything done, the two of them started meeting up on their own so that they could talk more without the boys there, and eventually Jemma had become the best friend Daisy made at college. She spent several nights throughout the years on Jemma’s fold-out sofa, partly because Daisy was in campus housing while Jemma had her own bathroom and washer-dryer units, and partly because they had stayed up too late doing TV marathons (Jemma always picked _Doctor Who_ , Daisy always picked _Parks and Recreation_ ).

And then came graduation.

Jemma was accepted to a Master’s-Ph.D. program long before they walked across the stage to receive their bachelor’s degrees, and to Daisy’s dismay, her program was all the way in Belgium. _Belgium_! Jemma of course wanted to spend the summer with her family in England before moving to her new residence, so Daisy’s last time hanging out with her was in the days following graduation. She slept on Jemma’s fold-out sofa in between packing up each room of her apartment, and Daisy was there when the shipping company came to pick all the boxes up. She insisted on driving Jemma to the airport (Jemma had never owned a car in the states but was still trying to insist she’d just get an uber…), and their last, tearful goodbye came when Jemma checked in and had her boarding pass and passport in hand.

“If you think you can swing it, you’re still welcome in England for a visit this summer,” Jemma reminded her as they lingered outside the initial security checkpoint, the furthest Daisy could go with her.

“Thanks,” Daisy said, even though they both knew that the internship she’d been accepted to offered neither the funds nor the free time for such a trip. This would be goodbye for them for a while, at least. “You’ll miss me right?”

Jemma hugged her one more time. “Oh, Daisy you have no idea.”

When she finally stepped back, she kissed her cheek and wiped Daisy’s tears with a gentle hand. “We’ll see each other again,” she said, meeting her eyes soundly. “I believe it. This isn’t goodbye forever."

She was backing away now, and Daisy made herself stand still and not follow her.

“I’ll text you from the gate,” her friend called, raising one hand with a smile before turning and getting in line.

Daisy waved goodbye and watched Jemma until disappeared from view with one last smile, feeling like there were too many things besides _goodbye_ that she didn’t say.

* * *

It took half a year, but Daisy was eventually able to save up the funds, coordinate her and Jemma’s schedules, and find a week in January when they were both free from their postgrad classes and able to meet up in one place. Daisy had gotten a passport especially for this and was itching to try it out, so they met up first in London, where Jemma greeted her with the biggest hug at Heathrow and took her straight to Sheffield to meet the Simmons family. After two nights under their roof with Daisy in their guest room, she and Jemma flew to Paris, did a whirlwind day of sightseeing, and then took a night train to Belgium.

Jemma was renting an apartment near the school’s research center, but Daisy was struck as soon as they walked in by how tiny it was. There were three rooms, at least, and a tiny balcony barely big enough to squeeze a pair of stools onto. Daisy at first carried her bag over to the sofa, but Jemma shook her head.

“That sofa’s not good enough for sleeping. The fold-out era is over. You can share my bed.”

Daisy wasn’t about to protest too much—three nights on a sofa that was not quite long enough for her body hardly sounded more appealing than a proper bed with her friend next to her. But the flutter in her stomach when they climbed in next to each other that night…that seemed like something to ignore. Beds were beds. If siblings could share one, then so could they.

But.

But then the next morning, when Daisy woke up to discover Jemma’s arm wrapped around hers, her cheek resting on Daisy’s shoulder, it was a little harder to ignore the flutter.

 _She just got me mixed up with her second pillow,_ Daisy told herself. _Nothing else going on here_.

She followed Jemma happily around all day, seeing her research site and as many of her favorite places as time allowed, then enjoying a dinner at one of the nicest restaurants Daisy had ever been too—the kind with a jacket requirement that mean Daisy had to borrow a one of Jemma’s skirts…

She woke up the next morning with Jemma snuggled into her shoulder again, but this time with her friend’s arm across her middle. This time, Daisy allowed herself to lean into it, slipping her arm around Jemma’s shoulders and holding her close. She didn’t think her friend was awake, and it was difficult for Daisy to convince herself that she didn’t want the touch as long as it was being offered. They only had one more day together, after all.

That day was more flurried sightseeing, including the capital’s history and art museums, and Daisy certainly noticed how Jemma held her arm as they walked, occasionally caught her hand and held it as they strolled through the museum…

That night, they brought home groceries in order to cook their own dinner together and also prepare a lunch for Daisy to take on the plane with her. It was hard not to bump into each other in the tiny kitchen, but Daisy liked the feeling of Jemma’s nearness, the way it felt when she leaned on her shoulder…

They ate their dinner on the sofa with a movie pulled up on Daisy’s laptop, and when their food was gone, Jemma stacked their dishes in the kitchen and then snuggled into Daisy’s shoulder while the film continued. Daisy felt her heart beating faster and wondered if Jemma could feel it too, but it wasn’t until the end of the movie that Daisy was able to gather the courage she needed. After all…she’s leaving in the morning.

“Hey Jem, I uh, I don’t know if I should sleep in your bed tonight.”

Jemma pulled away, looking over at Daisy, but she could only stare at her hands.

“It’s just…I really like you. In a way that…I think…sometimes I wish we were more than friends. And it just feels dishonest…”

Daisy didn’t finish the sentence, startled by the feeling of Jemma’s hand on her cheek. She finally looked up, glimpsing only the tenderness in Jemma’s eyes before her friend leaned in and kissed her.

Daisy did stay in the bed that night, wishing only that she had said something two days—or maybe two years—ago.

As they packed up her things the next morning, needing an early start to the airport, Daisy fetched her laptop and its charger from the coffee table and smirked at the sofa.

“You know, if you’d had a fold-out bed like you used to, we might never have gotten around to admitting anything,” she joked, making Jemma emerge from the kitchen and walk right up to the sofa and grab the two seat cushions, pulling them dramatically off.

Underneath, a fold-out bed stared up at Daisy. Her mouth fell open, and she looked up to see that Jemma was now the one smirking.

“Yeah, I know,” her ~~friend~~ girlfriend said proudly.

As it turned out, long-distance relationships weren’t the worst thing after all.


End file.
